


Nat King Cole Knew It All

by solarfemm



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: M/M, Slow Dancing, World War II
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-06-02 02:33:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19432120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/solarfemm/pseuds/solarfemm





	Nat King Cole Knew It All

The sun’s setting on another day, each one counting down to the inevitable: the day America joins the war. Bucky’s holding his breath knowing how badly Steve wants to be over there, mud in his boots and blood on his knife, and how badly Bucky doesn’t want him there, wants him to be here instead, on this fire escape with the breeze ruffling his hair and sun freckling his skin, or anywhere, anywhere that Bucky is and the war isn’t. Knowing Steve, he’ll find a way, and, more than the ships and the artillery and mounting tactical warfare, that’s what scares Bucky the most.

Steve takes a sip of pop, the last one they have, before he passes it to Bucky, who’s too far gone to do anything like wipe the mouth before he drinks. They’ve shared everything since they were six years old; what’s a little spit gonna do? He drinks it gratefully, still feeling the sun’s rays. 

Eventually the noise from the street quiets down enough they can hear the radio playing from Ms Meyer’s apartment below them, a soft sweet melody that Bucky’s slow danced to in halls with a girl in his arms and Steve waiting at the bar for the night to be over. He’s never asked Steve to dance. He’s always wanted to, but he’s a coward when it comes to what he really wants. 

Steve’s humming the song as it plays, and Bucky gets an idea. He stands, dusting off his slacks, and holds his hand out to Steve, who looks perplexed but is still smiling. 

“Can I have this dance?”

Steve narrows his eyes. “Are you making fun of me?”

“Never.” It comes off as a joke, but it’s true. He’d never make fun of Steve. How could he, when Steve is twice as brave as him, when Steve makes him brave? “Please? It’s just a dance.” 

Steve grumbles but gets to his feet, raising his arms to stretch out his ever-aching bones. He mirrors Bucky’s stance and puts his hands out. “How should we—“

“Here.” He puts his hand in Steve’s and puts Steve’s other on his own bare waist, feeling the heat from Steve’s fingers on him like a brand. Bucky blames the heat for how red he’s become, how flushed. Heat stroke, that’s what it is. He curls his fingers loosely around Steve’s, already feeling the slick slide of sweat between his fingers, and pulls Steve closer by the grip on his shoulder. “Like this.”

They start to sway to the music, shuffling their feet in a self-conscious way that has Steve looking down but stepping on Bucky’s feet anyway. 

“Shit,” Steve says, the third time it happens, and Bucky laughs.

“It’s fine. Stop thinking so much.”

“I’m no good at this.”

“How can you be, when you’ve never done it before?”

Steve looks up at him with furrowed brows. “There’s a reason I haven’t done it before.”

It sounds like they’re talking about something else, something they don’t talk about. Bucky holds his breath until Steve looks away, down at their feet again, his eyelashes fanning across his sun-tinted cheekbones. He’s beautiful. Maybe Bucky shouldn’t think that, because Steve isn’t exactly the kind of person his ma wants him to settle down with. He’s too mouthy, for one. For another, he’s a man. 

If he wasn’t, Bucky knows, however much it hurts to know, that they would be married by now, they’d have a house and two kids and another on the way. Bucky would work all day and cook all night so Steve would never have to lift a finger, and they’d make love every other day. They’d kiss on the pier. They’d hold hands in the streets. If Bucky was a dame, he’d do everything to make Steve fall in love with him the way they can’t be in love right now. If Bucky was, if he could be so lucky, he’d know how to touch Steve to make it known that Bucky wants him. He would be allowed to want him.

All he can do, though, is pull Steve close and hold his breath again when Steve leans into him, the music lifting through the bars of the fire escape and lilting, lilting.


End file.
